The Empire
see also: The Empire Guild The Empire is the successive state to the Silvermoon Empire. The Silvermoon Empire was dissolved at the call of the 5th Parliament of the Silvermoon Empire, and resulted in the formation of the Empire. Causes for change Under the reign of Emperor Jarethan II, five successive parliaments were called, to discuss reforms to the Empire. The first major change was the acceptance of the Death Knights of the Ebon Blade into the Empire, that followed with an additional amendment to the policies of the Empire to allow all races to join in as citizens and with equal treatment under the law. This social revolution caused the Silvermoon Empire to move in a different direction for its claim to legitimacy in the land. Major Members Blood Elves make up the bulk of the membership of the Empire, due to the power of the Empire being centralized in Silvermoon City and the former Silvermoon Empire. All of the major races of the world make up some portion of the Empire, though the citizenship tends to favor those of the Horde. Since the redistribution of land occurred, many have flocked to the rebuilding of areas of the Empire such as the Ghostlands and the former Eastern Plaguelands. These were at one time, rich farmlands that the Empire wishes to revitalize. There is also a substantial gnomish and tauren population within the Empire. These groups were given specific shelter by the Emperors for their talents. The Tauren Druids and Shamans have helped revitalize the forests of Silvermoon, and the Gnomes provide their ingenious engineering talents for the Imperial Army. Organization Government Symbolically, with the approval of the Sha'tar, the Empire moved its political workings to the neutral city of Shattrath. A'dal generously relocated himself to the upper Aldor tier and much of the Shattered Sun forces were relocated to other parts of outlands. The Imperial Army kept to the outskirts of Shattrath while the inner core of the Emperor's council maintained a presence within the Terrace of Light. While most of the political day to day workings of the empire were taking place in Shattrath, the Emperor himself maintained a more reclusive presence in nearby Firewing Point, which in itself was guarded by a massive force of the Sunstar Elite. Emperor Like the Silvermoon Empire before it, the Empire's head of state was the Emperor. Through the workings of a high ranging rank of bureaucrats and officials, the Emperor distributed his power. Mainly through the office of the Prime Minister did the Emperor's will be dictated and enforced by means of an vast army of bureaucrats and military forces. Co-Emperor During the Silvermoon Empire, the Emperor appointed a Co-Regent for his leadership should anything happen to him. The Co-Emperor, also addressed as Emperor, would maintain leadership and rule over Silvermoon City, while the Emperor proper would have leadership from wherever he was. The Co-Emperor was also the designated successor to the Emperor and would have absolute power, should the Emperor himself be incapacitated or ill. During the reign of Emperor Jarethan II, the position was left vacant and never appointed. Prime Minister Unusually, the Empire started to evolve more power within the office of the Prime Minister. Though the Emperor still has final say and absolute authority, it is the Prime Minister who has the day to day operations as head of government. Under the Premiership of Prime Minister Yimo, the office of Prime Minister became the most powerful in the nation, outdoing even the Imperial Advisors, much to their dismay. Though not official, the Prime Minister is also head of the military. Later on there were cases where the position of Grand Minister was created to merge both the Prime Minister and the Grand Master. Grand Master The Position of Grand Master is the head of the Imperial Masters. Originally the position was that of an internal appointement and had no true political powers. It was an overseer position for an internal security organization but as the position evolved, it became almost mixed in many cases, with the Prime Minister as the Grand Master often held the position of Prime Minister. Later on there were cases where the position of Grand Minister was created to merge both the Prime Minister and the Grand Master. Grand Minister The Grand Minister was a merging of the Prime Minister rank with the Grand Master of the Empire. Since the position of Prime Minister was only truly seperate during the reign of Emperor Jarethan II, when Shakrenaar was Prime Minister, and Yimo was the Grand Master. But when a Gnomish Grand Master took on the position of Prime Minister, it was more effective simply to merge the two positions together. Royal Council Headed by the Prime Minister, the Royal Council of Viceroys, Chancellors and High Councilors are the main governing body of the Empire. The Royal Council oversees many of the functions of the empire such as defense, foreign affairs and finance, though often the Prime Minister himself oversees the financial operations. The majority of the Royal Council remains in Shattrath City, however it is not uncommon for many of them to meet within the more heavily fortified city of Silvermoon City, which despite not being the capital, is still a city of vital importance and political power to the Empire. Strengths The Empire's greatest strength is its highly centralized leadership. There is no authority higher than the Emperor, and through him all orders are given. In addition the sheer massive diversity of the Empire's army and military system gives them a key advantage in most areas of combat. From the stealthy elven rangers to the high hitting Gnomish Siege Tanks, the Empire has a vast arsenal at its command. Some Night Elven Loyalists have even brought with them, Ancients of war. Territories The Empire's territorial claims vastly expanded when it opened up for new races to join in. Many outposts and settlements that were originally horde and alliance aligned sided with the Empire, making it a formidable global power. The Imperial Army was spread out to protect these various outposts and settlements, making sure that they were safe from foreign meddling. No doubt this caused a great deal of tension between the Empire, Horde and Alliance. To supplement the wide spread military, the Gnomes of the Empire, who were some of the Emperor's strongest supporters began to deploy their robots and automatons to help in defensive efforts. Nontheless the strongest assets of the Empire were those territories previously claimed by the Blood Elves under the mad prince. The Silvermoon Empire had secured these territories, and under the Empire they were heavily militarized, supplying important supplies and materials to the Empire, who's outland holdings were considerable. Isle of Quel'Danas Undoubedly, the heart of the Empire's political and cultural havens are the Isle of Quel'Danas, surrounding the Sunwell is the Sunwell Palace, the official residence of the Emperor. The isle itself is heavily fortified and contains a large shipyard for the construction of the Imperial Navy. The Isle of Quel'Danas is the most heavily fortified area of the Empire, and without question the most centralized and important symbol of the Empire's power. Silvermoon City The former heart of the Blood Elven civilization, the Imperial Capital has been moved to the Isle of Quel'Danas, leaving Silvermoon City a former capital. Despite this, Silvermoon City is still seen as the cultural capital, and is the official residence of th Co-Emperor of the Empire. Silvermoon City is also a location for many imperial festivities. Eversong Forest Seen as the eternal spring lands of the Empire, many of the nobility of the Empire live in Eversong. Despite its serene and eternally beautiful nature, the Eversong Forests is also heavily fortified. To preserve its beauty, the Empire has maintained a strong military presence within the Eversong forests, to police the area. Eastern Plaguelands Corin's Crossing and Quel'lithien Lodge are the buffer zones that protect Quel'Thalas from intrusions in the south by the Forsaken or the Alliance. The Eastern Plaguelands sees some of the heaviest travellers from former Scarlet crusaders to those wishing to make pilgrimages to Light's Hope Chapel and to the Ebon Keep. There are still the presence of renegade scourge in the area which is why the Imperial Army in this region is always on high alert. Kalimdor The Empire's presence in Kalimdor is at a minimum with the singular exception of its colony on the Isle of Dread. The Naga and the corrupted forces in this area were driven off their island by the Imperial Navy's massive assault. Within the Isle itself, the Empire has setup a settlement for exploration and strategic assaults into the area. The Emperor wishes to expand his influence into Kalimdor. Northrend Crystalsong Forest has the single outpost of Sunreaver's Command stands as the only true official Blood Elf area in Northrend. However the Sunreaver's Sanctum in Dalaran functions as a de-facto embassy for the Empire to the other nations of the world. The Empire's true military forces come from New Hearthglen, after the Scarlet Church was defeated by Imperial Forces, they seized the port city. New Hearthglen, despite being still Scarlet looking, has become a formidable military presence for the Empire in Northrend. The Blade War The Empire was formed out of diplomatic decision to unite nations under one banner, however there was great unrest amongst other races, not invited to join the Empire. The tribal forces of the Quillboar and the Centaur in the Barrens of Kalimdor, had long been a force that objected to the power of the Orcs and Tauren. These uncivilized tribes, were first seen as nothing more than a nuisance since they fought amongst themselves. These tribes started to gather and combine their forces to attack the forces, sympathetic to the Empire at Crossroads, and after a daring march, dared to lay siege to the fortress of Thunder Axe, the location of the Imperial Blademasters. Bladelord Raknathal, a powerful Orc Blademaster and member of the Emperor's Imperial Guard, took control of all the Orc forces in the Desolace region, and sheltered them in the fortress while imperial reinforcements were on their way from the Barrens. The enemy forces, a combination of Quillboars and Centaurs were preparing to lay waste to the Orc forces, but they stood valiantly and refused to give in, despite being outnumbered, the Orcs were encouraged by the courage of Raknathal. An elite force of Blademasters scouted the approaching army, massive in number, under a Centaur Warlord. The Battle of Thunder Axe Fortress, signaled the start of the Blade War, where in Kalimdor, the Imperial Forces would face off against constant attacks from the Tribes of the Quillboar and Centaurs. The Wrathgate Tragedy When Grand Apothecary Putress launched his attack against the Horde and Alliance forces at the Wrathgate, Imperial Forces were absent as they were still in Outland fighting for their claims to territory there. This was one of the contributing factors to the Alliance's hostility to them, conveniently the entire Imperial Army wasn't present, leading many to suspect that the Empire was in on the Undercity Revolt. However when the Alliance and Horde launched their retaliation on the Undercity, not any evidence of Imperial involvement was found leading to a clearing of the Empire's name. The Empire responded by sending a large army of its troops, known as the Blood Sun Conquest to the North to assist both forces. They were not used as main frontline forces but secured supply routes and construction for bases, in addition to bringing in much needed supplies. Religious Divisions The Empire's Order of Holy Light grew to the point where it has significant divisions within it. There were many differing points of view for the members of the Holy Order. Some believed that the Empire should seek a more friendly relation with the Alliance, other sought to align the order as neutral. Others believed firmly in the goals of the Empire as a whole. The Holy Order split into the Scarlet Conquest and the Argent Church. The remainders of the church remained as the Order of the Holy Light. The Argents sought neutrality, while the Scarlet Conquest sought alliance support. The Scarlet Conquest departed from the Empire and began their own city. The Argent Conquest also departed doing the same thing. Emperor Jarethan III, who was Emperor, dispatched forces of the Imperial Army to bring them back into the Empire through force if necessary. Through reorganization of the Church, the Emperor declared the proclamation of the Imperial Church, a multi-racial spiritual organization devoted to multiple styles of spiritual worship. The Orders of the Glade and Shadow were maintained as separate entities, as was a new order, the Sages. These three orders were given sanction by the Emperor to maintain their independence but were watched carefully by the Imperial Advisors. Foreign Relations The Empire maintains official diplomatic relations with most major powers of the world, including the horde and alliance. Amongst these major factions are those that are usually affiliated with both sides but remain neutral. Horde Arguably, the relations between the Empire and the Horde have remained mutually respectable. Though the relations between the Horde and the Empire have steadily degraded due to the hostility and domineering new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, the advisors to the Emperor have done what the could, to maintain a working relationship with the Horde and the Empire. Despite the cool relations between the Emperor and the Warchief, the Emperor has made overtures of friendship to the Tauren, Goblins and the Forsaken. The Empire also has an open-border policy to all horde races and does not forbid his people to join the war efforts, as volunteers, for the Horde. The Empire has made strong allies amongst the Tauren with the opening of an entire druidic and tauren quarter in the Imperial Capital. Alliance The Alliance was skeptical regarding the presence of a now third major power in the world. The Empire sent its diplomats under heavy guard to the Alliance capital cities with the clear mission to establish peace and trade. Some alliance leaders reacted better than others. The Night Elves, and Draenei were more receptive to them, while the Gnomes were almost enthusiastic. The Dwarves cared little for the Empire since they had their own internal problems due to the return of the estranged daughter of their King, who now claims their throne. Most cold was the King of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn. The Emperor's diplomats were not well received by the King, and were poorly treated, due to his eternal mistrust of the Horde races. Despite this the Emperor has been willing to call a cease fire between Empire forces and the Alliance, knowing well and always that he could rely on this bitter hostility with the King, as a way to leverage more support from the Horde. In essence, the Empire is playing both sides, and seeing who will come out on top. The Gnomes interestingly enough have received enormous support from the Empire in the recapture of their home city, Gnomeregan. The Empire's massive support for the Gnomes is seen by some as a way of buying their support against the stormwind faction of the alliance. The Empire also maintains good relations with the citizens and leadership of Theramore, causing more bitterness between the Empire and the Stormwind. The Sha'tar The Empire's citizenry included amongst them a sizable minority of Draenei. The Empire's war efforts to claim all of the Blood Elf held areas of Outland was met with a cold reception in Shattrath City. The Empire's further militarization of its holdings was also met with skepticism, but when these armies left to participate in the wars in other regions, relations got better. The Empire respects the power and the position of the Naaru as emissaries of a great holy light and do not do anything to counter this. When the Empire chose to make Shattrath its capital, it was in a statement of cooperation to the Naaru. Doing as such the Empire has become friendly with the Sha'tar and these relations are stable at the moment. The Kirin Tor With the Kirin Tor's majority of forces moving into Northrend to combat the the Lich King, the Kirin Tor was surprised at the political upheaval that cut off a sizable force from the Horde into an independent faction. The Silvermoon Empire, then the Empire proclaimed alliance with the Horde and stated that this was just an internal political change, but the Kirin Tor were skeptical. However the pragmatic Mageocracy was not going to let politics overstep their battle against the Lich King and accepted Imperial assistance through the Blood Sun Conquest and its sister organization, the Sunreavers. Relations between the Empire and the Kirin Tor are good due to the cooperative nature of the two organizations. The Argent Crusade Relations between the Argent Crusade and the Empire are similar to that of the Kirin Tor and the Empire. Since both the Kirin Tor and the Argent Crusade were accepting of all races, they worked well with the Empire. The Ashbringer himself was invited to the Imperial Capital for a grand banquet in which he attended and was celebrated as a great hero of the new age. in honor of his victory over the Lich King, the Empire built a monumental fountain of him, a replica of that in Dalarn within the walls of the Imperial Palace. This was also partially a way of giving recognition to the Crusade's forces since a large for of Imperial Troops had to leave Northrend for wars in the Barrens against the Quillboar and Centaur. The Ebon Blade When the Death Knights first rebelled against the Lich King, the Emperor was skeptical of this and banned the Death Knights from entering his domains. Later when the Lich King threat proved far too much for the Empire to remain neutral, the Imperial Council advised him to overturn his ban. Thus the Emperor did so and since then the Death Knights have become an integral part of the Imperial Forces. With the Ebon Hold hovering between the plaguelands and Quel'Thalas the Emperor has made efforts to win the support of the Ebon Blade, and thus has offered them supplies and even land, formally recognizing their claim to the former Scarlet Enclaves, should they wish to claim it. The Emperor is wisely using the presence of the Ebon Blade to buffer any attempt by the Alliance to conquer northwards and also to keep his forsaken allies in check, should another tragedy occur. Racial Integration The Empire has sought to unify the elven races of the eastern kingdoms. This mainly includes the former Darkfallen, the High Elves and the Felbloods. From the High Elves, the Empire's Blood Elves, the majority race would reunite with their close cousins. High Elves Amongst all the elven races, the High Elves are seen as the most equal to the Blood Elves. Often there is little distinguishable differences between Sin'dorei and Quel'dorei, so integration with the High Elves is relatively easy. It has been less than a generation since the split between the two races. Felbloods Felbloods were Kael'thas Sunstrider's most loyal Blood Elves, who completely gorged themselves on demonic energies, resulting in serious mutations to their bodies that result in them becoming virtually demonic elves in their own right. The Felbloods since have relinquished loyalties to the dead prince and now wish to return to their homes within the Empire. It was under Emperor Jarethan III that this matter was first brought to the attention of the Imperial Government as an exodus of Felbloods appeared to ask for sanctuary. The Emperor had to juggle this situation carefully, since the High Elves were vehemently opposed to their inclusion. In addition to the hostilities between the Felbloods and the High Elves, many Blood Elves were opposed to their return as well, since they had to fight them off while they retook Magister's terrace and the Sunwell Plateau back during the Burning Crusade. The Felbloods were given a section of the Ghostlands to live in, while the rest of the imperial druids worked at restoring the beauty of the forests. Darkfallen If the Felbloods had a difficult time gaining acceptance into the Empire, the Darkfallen had an even greater difficulty. The defeat of the Lich King had resulted in many of the undead forces being freed from being enslaved. The Darkfallen who at one time loyally served the Lich King, through Blood-Queen Lana'thel and the Blood Princes were now freed from their horrible nightmare. The first who they sought refuge from hostilities were the Empire. Forming a unified group, the San'lore, meaning light-less, or sun-less, the San'lore petitioned the Empire for membership. Though the two forces had never fought against each other directly, the Felbloods were in support of the Darkfallen joining but the Empire had to be careful with the Darkfallen. Forsaken within the Empire made it clear that they were in the same position as the Darkfallen and that they were now equal members. Based on this argument the Darkfallen were granted permission to live within Imperial Territories, and the restrictions on the Felbloods was also released. Emperor's of the Empire Gallery Image:Screenie01.jpg| Image:Screenie02.jpg| Image:Screenie03.jpg| Image:Screenie04.jpg| Image:Screenie05.jpg| Image:Screenie06.jpg| Image:Screenie07.jpg| Image:Screenie08.jpg| Image:Screenie09.jpg| Image:Screenie10.jpg| Image:Screenie11.jpg| Image:Screenie12.jpg| Image:Screenie13.jpg| Image:Screenie14.jpg| Image:Screenie15.jpg| Image:Screenie16.jpg| Image:Screenie18.jpg| Image:Screenie19.jpg| Image:Screenie20.jpg| Image:Screenie21.jpg| Image:Screenie22.jpg| Image:Screenie23.jpg| Image:Screenie24.jpg| Image:Screenie25.jpg| Image:Screenie26.jpg| Image:Screenie27.jpg| Image:Screenie28.jpg| Image:Screenie29.jpg| Image:Screenie30.jpg| Image:Screenie31.jpg| Image:Screenie32.jpg| Image:Screenie33.jpg| Image:Screenie34.jpg| Image:Screenie35.jpg| Image:flamespire.jpg| Image:flamecauldron.jpg| Category:Templates Category: The Empire Category: Nations